1510 | Matthew 4:1 Jesus s testeed in the wilederness
Jesus Is Tested in the Wilderness 4:1 – 11pp // Mk 1:12,13 ; Lk 4:1 – 13
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Then Jesus was led by the Spir it into the wil der ness to be tempt ed a by the dev il . 2 Af ter fast ing for ty days and for ty nights , f he was hun gry . 3 The tempt er g came to him and said , “ If you are the Son of God , h tell these stones to be come bread .”
4 Jesus an swered , “ It is writ ten : ‘ Man shall not live on bread alone , but on every word that comes from the mouth of God .’ b ” i
5 Then the dev il took him to the holy city j and had him stand on the high est point of the tem ple . 6 “ If you are the Son of God ,” he said , “ throw your self down . For it is writ ten :
“ ‘ He will command his angels concerning you , and they will lift you up in their hands , so that you will not strike your foot against a stone .’ c ” k
4:2 f Ex 34:28 ; 1Ki 19:8
4:3 g 1Th 3:5 h Mt 3:17 ;
Jn 5:25 ; Ac 9:20 4:4 i Dt 8:3
4:5 j Ne 11:1 ; Da 9:24 ; Mt 27:53
4:6 k Ps 91:11 , 12
4:7 l Dt 6:16
4:10 m 1Ch 21:1 n Dt 6:13
4:11 o Mt 26:53 ; Lk 22:43 ; Heb 1:14
4:12 p Mt 14:3
Mt 4:11 ❖ How does God help us stand firm against temptation in our lives ?
7 Jesus an swered him , “ It is also written : ‘ Do not put the Lord your God to the test .’ d ” l
8 Again , the dev il took him to a very high moun tain and showed him all the king doms of the world and their splendor . 9 “ All this I will give you ,” he said , “ if you will bow down and wor ship me .”
10 Jesus said to him , “ Away from me , Sa tan ! m For it is writ ten : ‘ Wor ship the Lord your God , and serve him only .’ e ” n
11 Then the dev il left him , and an gels came and at tend ed him . o
Jesus Begins to Preach
12 When Jesus heard that John had been put in pris on , p he with drew to Gal
a
1 The Greek for tempted can also mean tested . b
4 Deut . 8:3 c
6 Psalm 91:11,12 d
7 Deut . 6:16 e
10 Deut . 6:13 judgment for those who reject the message of the arriving kingdom of God . We can create a warped view of God and the gospel by overemphasizing the judgment to come , but we just as surely distort people ’ s view if we minimize the reality of judgment .
John is inviting those who respond to his message to experience life , to escape from the wrath to come , and to await the baptism of the Holy Spirit that the Coming One will bring . No message of judgment should ever be given without the accompanying message of promised life for those who respond .
Jesus laid aside both the glory and the independent exercise of his deity to live a life like ours on earth . That is why he is the very real , very tangible example of what our lives are being transformed into when we choose to follow him .
4:1 – 2 The Spirit that came on Jesus at his baptism leads him to the desert and empowers Jesus to withstand Satan ’ s temptations . The Father uses Satan ’ s evil intention to strengthen Jesus for his messianic role . 4:3 – 4 Satan does not doubt Jesus ’ identity as the Son of God , nor is he trying to get Jesus to doubt it . For Jesus to have turned the stones into bread would lead Jesus outside the Father ’ s will for the Son ’ s human experience . Temptations are one of the enemy ’ s ways of trying to get a person to abandon God ’ s will . 4:5 – 7 By intentionally putting himself in harm ’ s way , Jesus would be inappropriately testing his Father ’ s love , manipulating him to send a rescuing force of angels . Such a spectacular display would not honor the Father ’ s pathway for Jesus : obediently proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and suffering whatever consequences may come .
UNCORRECTED PROOF
4:8 – 10 Satan tries to sidetrack Jesus by getting him to take a shortcut to gain the kingdom that will someday be his via the hard way of the cross . “ Away from me , Satan !” In this response Jesus exerts his rightful authority over Satan by issuing his first command . He quotes for the third time the book of Dt . 4:11 Matthew adds a comforting comment : “ and angels came and attended him .” That is , angels attend to Jesus ’ physical needs after his long period of fasting . This comment indicates the cosmic significance what has just happened . The Son has begun the invasion of Satan ’ s domain .
4:1 – 11 A temptation is not always something inherently “ evil ” but rather consists of a good thing used for wrong purposes . Therefore , one of the most important considerations when addressing temptation is to understand the proper purpose for anything we face . Said in another way , what does God want for us in a situation ? Being tempted is not a sin . Succumbing to the temptation is when it becomes sin .
4:12 – 17 Jesus makes Capernaum , located in the ancient region of Naphtali , his base of operations . Having moved there from Nazareth in what had been the ancient territory of Zebulun , Jesus fulfills another OT prophecy ( v . 16 ). Here , these Jews are the first to see the great light of God ’ s deliverance in Jesus .
The phrase “ from that time on . . .” ( v . 17 ) marks a significant turning point . The preparations for Jesus ’ messianic ministry are complete . The prophesied miraculous birth and infancy of Messiah have been established .
Matthew ’ s summary of Jesus ’ message is the same as that of John the Baptist : “ repent , for the kingdom of heaven has come near ” ( v . 17 ). When